A Peace Activist Wakes Up, And Others Get Tired of "Peace"
GreetingsfromtheFrenchHill has a very powerful video showing how an Australian peace activist realizes the truth about how the Arab terrorists use children. Who said human sacrifice isn't practiced anymore?
(Anyone who can translate from French to English is asked to help out).
Carl at Israelmatzav has an eye-opening post about some ISM "peace" activists who may be training with AK-47s. Check out the articles, and the pictures.
GreetingsfromtheFrenchHill has a very powerful video showing how an Australian peace activist realizes the truth about how the Arab terrorists use children. Who said human sacrifice isn't practiced anymore?
(Anyone who can translate from French to English is asked to help out).
Carl at Israelmatzav has an eye-opening post about some ISM "peace" activists who may be training with AK-47s. Check out the articles, and the pictures.
posted by westbankmama at 11:00 AM
9 Comments:
Thanks for sending us to both those places- I needed some distraction.
The Stop-the-ISM Guy Carl quotes is a little biased and tends to over-exaggerate. But from many personal encounters over the years, I have my own reasons to despise the organization- for a start, they prey on naive people, and much as they would prefer to think otherwise, are doing nothing with long-term practical/productive ramifications for the region nor for the Palestinian cause which they claim to express solidarity with.
And yes, you can quote me on that.
Thel link you provide is updated with translation.
This mention of the same story has translation too.
I think the reports distorts and exagerates. I have met many ISM people who as PP said, are sometimes naieve and may not really contribute too much, most come for a few months then leave, but I am not about to bag them here, many are commited peace activists and brave humantarians.
I have been to peaceful demos against the IDF (which the Isreali press never mentions), who are facilitating the theft of land for colonial expansion. These ISM activist I have stood shoulder to shoulder with, peacefully, only to by shot at by the IDF, and chased with batons and tear gas.
By the way, some people holding guns which the photo says is in a Jericho prison, is not an indication of terrorist training. This is blatently dishonest of you to suggest that. If a photo of me holding an m-16 got into the wrong hands all sorts of connatations could be derived especially if I had a beard.
You know, I could find numerous photos of right-wing gun holding settlers pointing guns at palestinians or peace activist. Just do google search or look at the ISM website. But I would never stoop so low as to make a sensationalist post on my blog declaring something like "terrorist jewish settlers, threatening innocent children". This is just plainly obnoxious and juvenile.
by the way PP, who can anyone pratically contribute to the long term interests of Palestinians?
ISM have a limited purpose because their actions are inhreantly constrained by the occupation.
ISM do a lot for the Palestinian cause and I would be interested to see your arguments against that. Eg. monitoring checkpoints, without internationals present you wouldn't beleive the stuff that goes on.
Peace from the Ghetto
Odog- I've actually discussed this very point for hours with ISM-ers and with Palestinians. (And with plenty of Israelis, who often think that all ISMers are knee-jerk anti-semitic)
I don't disagree that international presence (nb not just the ISM) has been both welcome and effective in easing the daily lives of Palestinians and restoring some semblance of dignity (You know better than I do, although I've seen plenty of evidence to that effect myself.)
But from many ISMers, I've also personally witnessed what I would label outright warmongering, racist and incorrect declarations of facts about the region and history (which I find offensive, as someone who has taken the time to become educated about both narratives) people interfering where they are not welcome (crashing mourning houses, etc), and above all I've seen how people are exploited. (The Rachel Corrie discussion might start about here) That, in my opinion, seriously contravenes their intentions of doing "good" - especially when there are plenty of volunteers in the territories who are selflessly helping and empowering Palestinians without the need for such an agenda. Which is fuzzy at best. If their "actions" weren't "constrained by the occupation" a good 75% of them wouldn't be here in the first place, they'd be off to the next cause celeb in another part of the world. (And that's not me being cynical, that's straight from the mouth of an ISMer.)
I have so much more I could say, but this isn't my blog- I'll be happy to continue elsewhere...
Tafka, Jeremayakovka, Odog - I don't have the time to comment right now - but I will soon. Check back again.
tafka and odog - I don't know any more about the ISM than what I read in the blogs and newspapers, but I get the impression that they are made up of naive people who both want to "help" and are excited by the "action". Sort of like people who like to go on organized safari trips to Africa - where there is the excitement of seeing wild animals, without any real danger. They come to Israel to supposedly fight for human rights, while they ignore places like Darfur, where there is a real genocide occuring. Here they can do their stuff, and still go into Tel-Aviv to a pub. It is all play for them. I may have my disagreements with both the left in Israel and with the Palestinians (I prefer the term Arabs, but I will defer here) but at least we can all agree that this is our conflict. We all live here and have to deal with each other - even if it means violently (unfortunately). The ISM people are just visiting and making trouble. It scares me that it seems that they are getting a bit bored and have to play with rifles to increase the action.
Fair criticisms of the ISM, I am just urging caution not the label them all with the same brush.
I would like to defer on one point however, in so far as, yes this is the "Israeli/Palestinian" conflict, but many of the issues contained within are of universal humanitarian concern.
Even if the situation in Dafur, India or anywhere else is worse, internationals or ISM members have a role to play, keeping in mind the braoder picture of global poverty/suffering, which, agreed, some of your more "zealous" ISMers sometimes forget.
However, don't just judge people because of pre-conceived views of the ISM. I once knew an ISMer who worked in Palestine but had also been politically active in other Arab countries and "causing trouble". Clearly "jewishness" wasn't an issue, she was willing to oppose any opressive government regime.
Everyone has a basis for their opinions, and I agree that everyone is entitled to their opinions based on their own experiences.
My experience, based on the San Francisco ISM enclave, is that there are two kinds of ISMer--the 'nun' and the 'radical.' The nun wants to bring peace and enlightenment to the region, and is totally naive about the people, the history, the issues, etc. The 'radical' is a vicarious outlaw who is here for the ego-gratifying 'high' of vicarious soldiering in a war he can walk away from at any time.
I grant that there may be other kinds of ISMers, but these are the only kind I've ever met. I pity the 'nun'; I despise the 'radical,' who like all the westerners who meddle here, is more concerned about redeeming the sin of western colonialism with Israeli lives than working for peace.
If ISM was interested in peace, they'd run summer camps; they'd hold dialogues; they'd act as human shields on Israeli buses as well as in front of Arab houses. They're not interested in promoting peace, as their display of arms demonstrates (Odog, with all due respect, the armed settlers don't claim to be a peace movement so their carrying of arms doesn't rise to thr level of complete hypocrisy that ISMers with AK-47s does).
While the 'nuns' I've met in ISM are well-intentioned, the 'radicals' spew hate, lies and venomous antiSemitism. Like I said, there are no doubt many others I haven't met who don't fit these molds, but these are my experiences, and based on my experiences, I despise the ISM.
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